Situated in South London, is the seat of Camberwell and Peckham. The seat is primarily in the London Borough of Southwark. The constituency and the former Peckham constituency, has been controlled by Labour since 1945. Harriet Harman, the former Acting Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, has represented the constituency since 1983. The Camberwell and Peckham constituency is very ethnically diverse, and has the highest proportion of Afro-Caribbean residents – 37.4%, of all the constituencies in England and Wales, according to ONS 2011 Census figures.

With 50.6% of all residential properties being social housing, it also has the highest proportion of social housing of any parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. More than three in 10 residents are a single parents.

The area is also socially diverse with fine Georgian houses in parts of Camberwell, while Nunhead to the east has experienced considerable regeneration in recent years. King's College Hospital, one of London's largest teaching hospitals, and the Maudsley Hospital are major employers in the constituency.

One in seven residents are employed in human health and social work. At the 2001 general election, Labour held the seat with a 69.6% share of the vote, rising to 77.8% in 2017.

At least two conservation area groupings exist containing pockets of upmarket housing stock, principally Camberwell Grove and Camberwell Green.[3] The housing stock has expanded in the early-21st century due to major increases in Central London property prices, which has led to new private sector funded housing initiatives.

As such rents across the private rented sector have multiplied, affecting its long-term communities who have entrenched high reliance overall on the rented sector, pushing residents away by eviction or further away from owning their own homes near to their communities.[4]

The constituency was created in 1997. All results since 1997 have been strong Labour Party majorities of 36.8% of the vote or greater. As the predecessor seats were Labour (in this instance the length of party tenure can be dated to 1936) and council wards tend to have strong majorities for the party (local opposition is weak), the seat has the three main hallmarks of a safe seat.